PARIS: Governments worldwide scrambled Monday to head off damage from a flood of leaked US diplomatic cables revealing secret details and indiscreet asides on some of the world's most tense international crises. Despite diplomats' red faces, officials were quick to criticize the release of the confidential missives, most of which date from 2007 to February this year, and to stress that the leaks would not harm relations. The more than 200,000 cables were given to journalists from five Western publications several weeks ago and are being released on the web in stages over the coming weeks, with many governments still braced for the worst. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose policies are the subject of many of the memos, dismissed them as “worthless” and “mischief” which would not affect Tehran's relations with its Arab neighbors. The US Justice Department said it would tighten security to prevent future leaks. It said it was conducting a criminal investigation of the leak of classified documents and the White House, State Department and Pentagon all said they were taking steps to prevent such disclosures in future. While Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would not comment directly on the cables or their substance, she said the United States would take aggressive steps to hold responsible those who “stole” them. “The US deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats' personal assessments and observations,” she said. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi defended himself against classified US cables labeling him “feckless” and suggested his penchant for “partying hard” affected his ability to govern. On a visit to Tripoli, the prime minister dismissed the comments with a joke. “Unfortunately, I have never in my life taken part in any ‘wild party'. They may be interesting,” he told reporters in comments broadcast by SkyTG24 television. “Once a month, I give dinners in my houses because there are so many people who want to meet me,” he said. Britain said it would continue to work closely with the US despite the upcoming release of unflattering US memos about Prime Minister David Cameron. British newspaper The Guardian, one of those media selected to preview the documents, said that upcoming memos give “embarrassing” US views of Cameron and “weak” ex-leader Gordon Brown. Cameron's spokesman said leaks were “inhibiting the conduct of governments.” US officials had raced to contain the diplomatic fallout by warning more than a dozen governments of the impending leaks. Afghanistan insisted its relations with the US would not be affected by cables portraying President Hamid Karzai as weak and paranoid, and his brother as a corrupt drugs baron. “We don't see anything substantive in the document that will strain the relationship,” Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omer told reporters, adding: “We'll wait and see what else comes out before making further comment.” Russia tried to play down US diplomats' reported assessment of the country as “a virtual mafia state” that is ruled by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and not the president. “There is nothing new or deserving a comment in these publications,” Kremlin spokeswoman Yulia Timakov said. Israel emerged as a surprising beneficiary, with senior officials saying that they vindicated the Jewish state's position on Iran's nuclear program. “I don't think Israel was harmed at all,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, although one document quoted him as saying while in opposition in 2007 that he would “never allow a single Palestinian refugee to return to Israel.”
